CM apprised of traders' plight

Sadar Bazar traders' association members express angst for having to pay huge amounts as bribe for licence renewal and other basic facilities

The Sadar Bazar traders had a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and heads of various Delhi government departments and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Teeming: Scene at Sadar Bazar on a regular day. File pic

The meeting was called by the Delhi CM following a MiD DAY report wherein the traders had alleged that they had to bribe the civic agency officials for their licenses and other facilities. The Delhi government officials informed that their problems, such as parking, condition of roads, construction of auto stand, pre-paid taxi stand, and other civic services were discussed at the meeting.

Tale of woes"We have apprised her of our problems. All our problems were discussed at the meeting and the chief minister has directed the officials to take appropriate action," said, Manohar Lal, traders' association leader. She has also asked us to send a copy of all the issues in detail, through local MLA Rajesh Jain, to the government, he added.

As reported by MiD DAY, the traders' body had decided to stop giving bribes to the officials, especially to those from the MCD, impressed by Anna Hazare's campaign and launched an agitation against the government.The traders' body has around 30,000 members and they had alleged that the annual amount which is given to the MCD as bribe by the traders would be about rupees 100 crore, which they have to give each time they apply for licenses and get mandatory clearances for their business outlets. The issue was also raised in Delhi assembly in the monsoon session by the ruling party members.

CAG to scrutinise accounts of discomsThe Delhi Government on Tuesday ordered a thorough inspection of the accounts of the three private discoms by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) from financial year 2007-08. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) had also recommended a CAG audit of the accounts of the discoms while announcing the increase in tariff last month. The decision to recommend the CAG audit of the discoms was taken at a high level meeting attended by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Power Minister Harun Yusuf and top officials of the power department.